Welcome

A blog for kids (and their parents) who love books, words, and dreaming big...
I'm so glad you stopped by! Welcome.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Umber

Forsythia leaves in fall, Oct. 2011

This week's word is umber (pronounced uhm-ber). It is an adjective, a color name meaning either a yellowish brown -- sometimes called "raw umber" -- or a reddish brown -- also known as "burnt umber". (Umber is also a noun, meaning a natural brown clay pigment containing manganese and iron oxides.) It's a good word for autumn and the reddish brown leaves that some plants display this time of year. I also realized while writing this that the Scrabble tiles I use for all my "word posts" are the color of umber....

A kaleidoscope of mustard, crimson, and umber leaves blanketed the ground.

What other things can you think of that are umber in color? How would you use "umber" in a sentence?